Amid criticism against glitches experienced during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has dismissed claims of conspiring against a part of the country to undermine their education development through the technical glitch recorded during the examination.
Oloyede said that there was no deliberate attempt to undermine students from any region especially the South-East, saying each candidate is a Nigerian and has equal opportunities with others.
The JAMB registrar stated this on Wednesday while reacting to the technical glitches that affected the five states of the South-East zone and Lagos, with many alleging that the Board deliberately compromised results of the South-East candidates.
At a meeting with the management of the board ahead of the release of results of the rescheduled UTME Examination, he expressed grief over the death of a candidate as a result of the examination.
While describing the development as regrettable, the Don led other JAMB staff to observe a minute silence in honour of the dead candidate in Lagos State.
His denial follows calls from some quarters, especially lawmakers from the South-East zone for his resignation over the technical glitch that affected over 300,000 students.
The South-East Caucus of the 10th House of Representatives, who made the demand yesterday, called for cancellation of the 2025 UTME and a new date fixed for the exercise across the country.
In a statement signed by the caucus leader, Igariwey Enwo, the lawmakers described the examination’s outcome as a “national shame.”
They said, “To this end, we call for the immediate suspension of those at the commanding heights of JAMB’s digital operations and examination logistics.
“The registrar of JAMB is said to be a good man, but then, leadership must carry consequences. We, therefore, call on the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, to do the needful by resigning his appointment to pave the way for a thorough examination and remediation of the root causes of this national shame.
“That’s the way to go in any civilised democracy, and we expect no less.”
